[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 3]
[House]
[Page 4083]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                      THE RYAN BUDGET AND MEDICARE

  (Ms. DUCKWORTH asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Ms. DUCKWORTH. Mr. Speaker, the Ryan budget once again places the 
burden of deficit reduction on working Americans while failing to stop 
the frivolous spending of subsidies for oil and gas companies that cost 
the American people billions of dollars every year.
  I'm especially concerned that the Ryan budget will end the guarantee 
of Medicare for hardworking Americans who have paid into it. Medicare 
was created precisely because the private market failed to provide 
seniors with affordable and quality health care.
  Even if senior citizens are able to find decent health insurance, 
they would still have to pay $1,000 more a year for prescription drugs 
after the Ryan budget reopens the doughnut hole. Overall, their budget 
will force seniors to pay $59,500 more in health care costs during 
their retirement. My neighbors, who work so hard to pay their mortgages 
and send their children to college, can't afford to spend another 
$59,500.
  Rather than ramming through a partisan budget that will never become 
law, I encourage Congress to work together on a budget that can 
preserve Medicare, reduce the deficit, and grow our economy.

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